Christina Flammerdingher

14^th of September
  In the morning, at 11 am and after a very, very short introduction Danny starts his run.
 15^th of september
Our farmer, where we slept that night threw us out too early and we were definetly not ready.
 16^th of September
 The day of mascerade.
Early in the morning we unpacked the make up. What followed was a big great photo shooting in a cowless barn at the backside of our farmhouse station in Gortini, a village with ten houses and two pubs. To be made up brought us quite nearer to that out of place touristic feeling of the horse drawn caravan. We stayed that way the whole day. The Irish were irritaded and were hesitant greeting us.
In the early afternoon we arrived at the lake Lough Derk. At first Martin damaged the backlight of the bus and he did a great job fixing it. It was the first time EVER I saw him angry…
After a coffee we did the second photo shooting. It was a so very creative day with filming, recording and playing. We were working together though each of us did some work of his own as well. You will see all that at the exhibition in November.
 17^th of September
 We pass the wideness of the highlands. Driving on small streets through woods and there are no walls or fences. One of the highlights is a small selfmade house. It must be the only house in Ireland, which looks individual. That’s an amazing fact. The architecture, all houses look the same. There is no difference, no individuality. Not the houses, neither the gardens. Short english grass, small lovely figures like eagles, horses or ducks left and right on the white gateway.

 18^th of September
 Back to Ballinakill and the last night in the caravan.

 19^th of September
We arrive in Galway. It will become a shopping day.

 20^th of September
We leave Galway and drive south on the coast road. We heard about a big cave and look for, but it is already closed.
Its getting dark between seven and eight and we have to hurry to find a place to sleep. The search ends at a place called birds view. We managed to make a fire in five minutes though the wood is always wet and went to beds with a wonderful outview to the sea.

 21^th of September
  Cliffs of Moher
 a stormy morning. After we found a B&B to sleep, and took a shower there, we drive to the Cliffs of Moher.
On the bottom of The cliffs they built a Tourist Information Centre with a big parking space.
 

Pay 5 Euro when you leave

We find our way down the road and walk back. The Cliffs are about 300 meters and the highest in Europe.
The mission is , to find the best place for the shooting of my project flying rice on the next day. Our B&B ladies forecast was stormy and windy.
The wind conditions are awful. I can only hope for the following day. I need sunshine( or at least no rain) and strong wind.
Its late, and most of the other tourists are gone. We make our way above and the asphalted road ends soon. We stop at a big sign.
Please do not go further

Danger

The way is very narrow and muddy and I think about adequate shoes and the sign we left behind us. Andrea prevered the way through the fields left handside. She didn’t see  the lovely painted sign

Be aware of the bull

(On the way back, I will take that option too)
Its getting dark and we split, Andrea want to try the straight way down, through the fields. It starts to rain a little, I cant see the way clear, and I slip a few times and my legwarmers get dirty.
Back on the street heavy rain starts and the last of my dry clothes are dripping wet. Back in the bus, Martin and I feel lucky( but my umbrella is damaged)and we have to hurry to catch up Andrea down the road. We wouldn’t have seen her, if she wouldn’t have shouted.
  22th September
 The weather is amazing. Its windy and the sky clear.
The second visit to the Cliffs of Moher. Martin is very tired because he worked the whole night on his wind and wings audio piece.
We take the way from the other side to the cliffs trough the fields. We pass a sign
Private
 

Don’t go further

The way up is better than yesterday and we have a lots of stuff to carry.
There is not too much time, because Astrid and I have to be in New Castle West at 6pm for a meeting with Lorcan MacCurtáin from the Arts Show on West Limerick FM and we have to find a new place to sleep.
It takes a time to find out how I have to throw the brides bunch against the wind and how to catch it in the right way. The Highheels and the wedding dress don’t make it easier.
We do a break. Martin took some coffee and things to eat with.
At the moment when we were finish and Astrid wanted work on her audio piece, it started to rain again. We are in a hurry to come back to the bus. The rain stopped, Astrid finished her record and Martin stood Eye to Eye with the owner of the sign. They talked nothing when I came there. They looked in each others faces without a word. Finally the farmer said:” did you see the sign.” Silence again. Then Martin said: “Yes.”
 New Castle West
 It took us two hours to arrive at the radio station. We are half an hour late. Lorcan is on air. While he plays some really good dub, he goes outside for a cigarette with us. After his show we sit in the kitchen. The station is well equiped, very professional especially out of the point of view, that it is an alternative radio station and New Castle is not as big as Steyr.
Apropos Steyr. Steyr is famous in Ireland. Some people we met, told us about the old Steyr Traktoren, which are made of gun steel. Great quality- but expensive. Lorcans father has had his for fifty years now and it is still working.
He does the interview with us, we are nervous and a little drunk. Not the best conditions to talk.
Afterwards he takes us to the Poetry Festival Eigse( 21th  – 24th September). Great evening with the poets Gabriel Rosenstock and Ann Drysdale and the Traditional folk singer Jimmy Crowley( I was shocked, he is so famous, that everyone in the hall started to sing)
 23th of September
 Too little time. We cancel the plan to drive back to Lough Ree, where the mysthic cave of the cat is ( a project by Astrid) and make our way back to New Castle. The Festival is still going on with a pub tour. It’s a poetry, music and pub theatre with local poets and musicians. Its free to do something. We are invited to sing or so, but I wouldn’t have any idea what. Not the day for that.
We meet Lorcan and do the interview again. We do a great job. It will be online next Friday.
 We make the joice to drive through, back to the beach, where we arrived eleven days ago.
Tomorrow we take the ferry from Rosslare back to Cherbourg. Eighteen hours on the water.
  24^th of September
  The last day. Depression is in the air. It was too little time, some concepts were not realised, the trip by horse was disillusioning, two of us are ill, all of us need recover from the tour.
The last few hours are well spent.
Mari Lillian plays shopping, ice skating on the beach, goes to school and cooks lasagne, lemon cake and ice cream with stones and shells.
Andrea raises some Clutterland flags on the beach, Martin and Astrid spend their time with their mini disc recorders, and I drink three cups of coffee.
    

christina flammerdingher:

there is already some way behind us. i had a horse, its name was danny…

i was in trouble because of this unexpectable nostalgic horse drawn caravan. four days after, i know, i like to go by horse and i like the slow way of moving through the landscapes. Its awful but true.